Religion Blog

View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoAndrew Medichini | associated pressPope Francis criticized an “ostentatious preoccupation for the liturgy” in the church and called for more female involvement in decision-making and support for women in poverty or turmoil.

VATICAN CITY — The Catholic Church should concentrate less on procedures and liturgy and get “
dirty” and “bruised” by reaching out to people in the street, Pope Francis wrote in a document that
was released yesterday and is seen as a manifesto for his papacy.

The 224-page “apostolic exhortation,” called
The Joy of the Gospel, summarized many of the themes and ideas that the Argentine-born
Jorge Mario Bergoglio has raised since his election in March.

“I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets,
rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security,”
the pontiff wrote.

Francis, who has consistently shunned papal pomp and protocol, railed against an “ostentatious
preoccupation for the liturgy … without any concern that the Gospel have a real impact on God’s
faithful people.”

“In this way, the life of the Church turns into a museum piece or something which is the
property of a select few,” he warned.

Hinting at potentially far-reaching reforms in the Vatican’s male-dominated world, the pope
called for “a more incisive female presence in the Church,” especially “where important decisions
are made.”

At the same time, he signaled an intention to delegate power to bishops around the globe, going
as far as saying that the pope should not “be expected to offer a definitive or complete word on
every question which affects the church and the world.”

Francis also renewed his well-known criticism of unbridled capitalism, denouncing inequality as “
the root of social ills.”

He said there will be “no solution” to world ills until the problems of the poor are addressed
by rejecting “the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the
structural causes of inequality.”

While pleading for better relations with Jews and Muslims, he “humbly” asked Islamic countries “
to grant Christians freedom to worship and to practice their faith.” He noted that “authentic Islam
and the proper reading of the Quran are opposed to every form of violence.”

On family issues, the pope reasserted the church’s traditional stances.

Speaking out against divorce, he said marriage “transcends the feelings and momentary needs of
the couple” and criticized those who see it “as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be
constructed in any way or modified at will.”

On abortion, he said it is “not ‘progressive’ to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human
life.” But he added that the church had “done little” to support women “in very difficult
situations,” such as those suffering from extreme poverty or pregnancy from rape.